Surprise! Even Early-Career Women Experience Ageism

When women think about ageism at work, it’s usually at the tail end of our career. But does ageism in the workplace for women go both ways?

For example, do women get discriminated against for being too young—and then again, as they reach a more mature age?

“The punchline is, they do,” says Alexis Krivkovich, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. “Women feel their age impacts their ability for opportunity. The real whammy for women is that that number is even higher earlier in their career.

Nearly half of women under 30 say that their age is impacting their opportunities, and that is much higher than the percentage of men reporting the same. So you get hit on both sides.”

According to the 10th edition of the McKinsey and LeanIn.Org “Women in the Workplace” report, 49% of women under 30 have experienced ageism, compared to 38% of women over 60. Of particular interest is that levels of ageism equal out between men and women once they reach 60, so the disparity is more pronounced in younger workers.

“Younger women are twice as likely to experience age-focused micro-aggressions than young men,” says CEO & co-founder of LeanIn, Rachel Thomas. It’s the perfect storm of ageism and sexism.” But it’s not all doom and gloom. “One bright spot is that younger women are really ambitious,” says Thomas.

“They are the employees of the future. They’re more committed to diversity. They represent a lot of the change we need to see in the workplace.”

—LINDSAY KOHLER, “Early-Career Women Suffer From Ageism More Than Any Other Group, According To Report,” Forbes, September 2024.